225. Venial Sin as Disposition to Mortal Sin

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Question: Can Venial Sin Dispose to Mortal Sin? #

• The Problem: Venial and mortal sin appear to be opposites; one opposite does not dispose to another
• The Resolution: They are not simple opposites (like black/white) but analogical (like accident/substance); accident can dispose to substantial form
• Key Principle: Disposition operates in two fundamentally different ways—direct causation and indirect causation (removing prohibition)

Two Modes of Disposition #

1. Direct Disposition (per se primo)

• A cause directly moves toward its effect (as hot heats)
• Like acts generate like dispositions and habits
• Venial sin cannot directly dispose to mortal sin in this way because they differ in species and genus
• However, repeated acts of the same venial sin do generate habits that incline toward that type of sin

2. Indirect Disposition (per accidens—removing prohibition)

• A cause removes what prevents the effect (as removing the column removes what stands on it)
• Venial sin disposes to mortal sin by weakening respect for order generally
• One who commits venial sin becomes accustomed to disregarding proper order in lesser things
• This habituation to disorder makes the will susceptible to greater disorders—mortal sin
• The will grows increasingly indifferent to the order required by divine law

The Habituation to Sin #

Mechanism of Habituation

• Repeated venial sins increase the libido peccandi (strong desire to sin)
• Through repeated acts, the will becomes disposed such that sinning becomes the dominant inclination
• The person begins to constitute sinning as their end: “to each one having a habit, as such, the end is to act according to that habit”
• Once this habit is established, the person’s choices increasingly reflect this disordered end

Augustine’s Warning

• We should pray daily for forgiveness of venial sins lest they produce a habit
• Habituation is the danger; small sins become powerful through repetition

Examples of Habituation

• The alcoholic: repeated indulgence becomes habitual, eventually destroying marriage, job, and entire life
• The litigant: pursuing a just cause becomes obsessive, transforms into the person’s entire life goal, ruining everything else
• The office worker: a good idea becomes the defining moment of a 50-year life, suggesting how good things can become disordered ends

Respect for Order as Foundational #

The Loss of Order

• When one sins venially, one “overlooks or sets aside some order”
• This accustoms the will “in minor things, to not be subject to a suitable order”
• From this habituation, the will becomes disposed to disregard order even in major things
• This explains why “disrespect for order” is the gateway to greater sins

Order as Essential to Reason

• Order is central to philosophy itself: methodos means “knowledge over a road” (a path, implying order)
• When order is abandoned, “anything goes”
• Berquist connects this to Shakespeare’s emphasis on “looking before and after”—the capacity to maintain rational order over time and through reflection
• The loss of order in music (Romantic music “tearing you out”) parallels the loss of order in the moral life

Three Ways Venial Can “Become” Mortal #

1. Same Act Changes Species (IMPOSSIBLE)

• A moral act consists principally in the act of will
• If the will changes, it is no longer the same moral act
• Therefore, one and the same act cannot first be venial and then become mortal

2. Venial Ex Genere Becomes Mortal (POSSIBLE)

• A venial sin from its genus can become mortal when one constitutes it as an end
• Or when one orders it to a mortal sin as an end
• Example: idle words (venial ex genere) become mortal when ordered to committing adultery
• This represents not a change of the same act, but a change in how the act is positioned within one’s will and intentions

3. Many Venial Sins Add Up to One Mortal (IMPOSSIBLE)

• No matter how many venial sins accumulate, they cannot equal one mortal sin in guilt or punishment
• They differ infinitely in their opposition to God
• Mortal sin merits eternal punishment and damnation; venial merits only temporal punishment
• Even innumerable venial sins cannot equal the offense of one mortal sin
• This is clear “on the part of duration” (mortal sin has eternal debt of punishment) and “on the part of punishment of the damned” (deprivation of the divine vision, to which no other punishment compares)

Key Arguments #

Against the Thesis (Objections) #

Objection 1: Opposites Don’t Dispose to Each Other

• Venial and mortal sin are divided by opposites
• One opposite does not dispose to another
• Response: They are not divided as simple opposites (like black/white, hot/cold) but as accident to substance; accident can dispose to substantial form

Objection 2: Different Species Can’t Dispose

• Mortal and venial differ in species and genus
• Like acts generate like dispositions
• Response: This applies to direct disposition; indirect disposition (removing prohibition) operates differently

Objection 3: Good Works Also Dispose to Mortal Sin

• Augustine says pride works insidiously into good works
• If venial sin per se disposes to mortal, then good works would be venial sins (since they also dispose)
• Response: Good works are occasions (accidental causes) for pride, not per se causes; venial sin per se disposes; good works per se do not

Objection 4: Infinite Difference Prevents Change

• Venial and mortal differ in infinitum (infinitely)
• Things differing infinitely cannot change into each other
• Response: They differ infinitely in opposition to God, but venial can become mortal through addition of new deformity

Supporting Arguments #

Scripture (Ecclesiasticus 19:1)

• “Who neglects little things, bit by bit falls away”
• This directly supports the thesis: venial sins dispose bit by bit to total fall into mortal sin

Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics II)

• “From like acts are generated like dispositions and habits”
• Supports the principle of habituation through repeated acts

Augustine

• “Pride insidiously works into good works”
• Teaches that venial sins should be confessed daily “lest they produce a habit”
• Shows the Church’s ancient recognition of the danger of habituation

Important Definitions #

Disposition (dispositio) #

The state of being arranged or prepared for something; in causation, a twofold mode:

• Direct: A cause that directly moves toward an effect (the hot heats)
• Indirect: A cause that removes a prohibition/obstacle (removing the column removes what stands on it)

Venial Sin (peccatum veniale) #

• Commits against proper order in things ordered to the end (God)
• Does not sever the habitual relationship with God through charity
• Merits temporal punishment only
• Can result from weakness, ignorance, or lack of deliberation

Mortal Sin (peccatum mortale) #

• Commits against proper order with respect to the ultimate end (God) itself
• Severs the soul from God through loss of charity
• Merits eternal punishment and damnation
• Kills the soul spiritually

Libido peccandi #

A strong desire to sin; habituation to venial sins increases this desire until sinning itself becomes the end the person pursues

Order (ordo) #

The proper arrangement of things according to reason and divine law; central to both virtue and the moral life; its loss is the gateway to increasingly grave disorder

Examples & Illustrations #

Habituation Leading to Disordered Ends #

The Alcoholic

• Begins with small indulgences (venial)
• Through repetition, drinking becomes habitual
• Eventually becomes the person’s entire life goal
• Destroys marriage, job, health, and all other goods

The Litigation Obsessive

• Fights a just case in court
• The pursuit of justice becomes his entire life’s purpose
• Spends decades pursuing the case
• Destroys his whole life in the process
• “One greedy man ruining himself for another greedy man”

The Patent Litigant

• A man invents intermittent windshield wipers
• A manufacturer rips him off in the deal
• He makes winning the patent case his life’s cause
• Pursues it obsessively, destroying his entire life

The Federal Express Commercial

• A young office worker suggests using Federal Express to save money
• The boss acts on the idea, company saves money, he gets promoted
• This becomes the shining moment of his 50-year life
• In old age, he’s still talking about it, has it commemorated on a poster
• Shows how a good thing can become a disordered end

Loss of Order in Culture #

Music as Loss of Order

• Baroque/Classical music represents emotions in ordered state
• Romantic music “tears you out”—introduces disorder
• Rock and roll (e.g., Grateful Dead followers as “deadheads”) introduces people to disorder
• Disordered music combined with disordered images in movies creates “insanity”
• Berquist notes: “You take away order. Anything goes.”

The Slippery Slope of Sexual Ethics

• Marriage redefined: love of spouses elevated to equal status with children as end
• This disorder in the end of marriage becomes the main thing
• Once this disorder is accepted, the next step becomes inevitable: why not same-sex “marriage”?
• “They’ve already bought the sexual revolution and they can’t possibly have an objection to this now”

Loss of Order in the Mind

• People “get a little bit sloppy as far as order is concerned”
• They “go further and further away”
• Eventually they “proceed without any order”
• This parallels the spiritus planis (spirit of error/wandering) where the mind wanders into illusion

Notable Quotes #

“To each one having a habit, as such, the end is to act according to that habit.” — Aquinas, cited by Berquist

Explains why habituation to sin becomes so powerful: the person’s entire purpose becomes shaped by the habit

“Who neglects little things, bit by bit falls away.” — Ecclesiasticus 19:1

Scripture’s validation of the principle that venial sins dispose to mortal

“Pride insidiously works into good works.” — Augustine, Rule

Cited by Berquist to show that circumstances and contexts can transform acts

“From like acts are generated like dispositions and habits.” — Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics II

Foundational principle for understanding how venial sin becomes habitual

“You should be looking before and after.” — Shakespeare

Referenced by Berquist as the capacity to maintain order through reason and reflection

“You take away order. Anything goes.” — Berquist’s summary of the consequence of losing respect for order

“This is removing, prohibents.” — Berquist, explaining indirect causation in the mechanism of disposition

“A curable sin can become incurable.” — Referenced in objection

Berquist uses this to explain the danger of habituation—what is initially remediable becomes increasingly hardened

Questions Addressed #

Can Venial Sin Dispose to Mortal Sin? #

The Question: How can a lesser sin dispose to a greater sin when they differ in genus and species?

The Answer: Through indirect causation—venial sin removes respect for order, accustoming the will to disregard proper order in lesser things, thereby disposing it to disregard order in greater things. This habituation weakens the will’s resistance to mortal sin.

Can the Same Act Change from Venial to Mortal? #

The Question: Can one and the same sinful act first be venial and then become mortal?

The Answer: No. A moral act consists principally in the act of will. If the will changes, it is a different moral act. The same act cannot change its moral character.

Can Many Venial Sins Add Up to One Mortal Sin? #

The Question: If venial sins accumulate, might their total effect equal one mortal sin?

The Answer: No. They differ infinitely in their opposition to God. No quantity of venial sins, however vast, equals one mortal sin in guilt or punishment. Mortal sin merits eternal punishment; venial sin merits only temporal punishment.

How Does Habituation Work? #

The Question: Through what mechanism does repeated venial sin become dangerous?

The Answer: Repeated venial acts generate habits (hexis) and increase the libido peccandi (strong desire to sin). The person becomes accustomed to disregarding order. Eventually, they may constitute sinning itself as their end—making the disordered habit the governing principle of their life.

Why Is Loss of Order Foundational to This Process? #

The Question: What is the connection between respecting order and resisting mortal sin?

The Answer: Reason itself is essentially orderly (methodos = knowledge over a road/path). When one loses respect for order through venial sin, one loses the rational foundation for resistance to all sin. This is why the loss of small order opens the way to great disorder.